Locations
Introduction Gintama is set in a period of relative peace after Edo was invaded by the Amanto and the inhabitants had no choice but to accept these new outlanders as their new neighbours. It depicts Edo after it had been conquered by the aliens, and how it looks after they brought modern-day technology into a samurai country of ages past. Most of the story in Gintama is set in Edo itself, or in the sky above it, but the reader is also taken a few other places for various reasons. Edo Edo is the fictional city in which the protagonists of Gintama live and work. In real-life, Edo was the name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, before it was renamed in 1868, when the shogunate came to an end. Kabuki District かぶき町 A red-light district in both real-life Japan and in the Gintama world, Kabuki District is where Snack Otose, Yorozuya's office and the many cabaret clubs, host clubs etc are located. It is purportedly 'ruled' by the 4 Devas of Kabuki District かぶき町四天王, namely Otose, the Kujaku Hime, Mademoiselle Saigou Tokumori and Doromizu Jirochou. Buildings within Kabuki District Yorozuya Gin-chan 万事屋銀ちゃん The second storey above Snack Otose houses the Yorozuya Gin-chan main office from which the Yorozuya 万事屋 trio operate. Landlady is Otose herself, who frequently sends Catherine, and in later episodes Tama, to go after Sakata Gintoki for late rental payments. While Gintoki, Kagura and Sadaharu also live and sleep here, Shimura Shinpachi goes back home to his own family dojo every night. Yorozuya Kin Gon Chan 万事屋金良ちゃん The spanking new tall office building of the very successful Yorozuya Kin Gon Chan 万事屋金良ちゃん, comprising old Yorozuya members Kanemaru 金丸, Ikesawa 池沢, Furuhashi 古橋 and now led by a new leader called Stainless Boy ステンレスボーイ. Snack Otose Snack Otose スナックお登勢, or 'Otose's Snack House' is a bar run by Otose, one of the 4 Devas of Kabuki District. It is a relatively small place frequented by Mu-san amongst others. It's regular employees are Catherine and Tama with occasional help from the Odd Jobs crew when they're late with the rent. Snack Smile スナックスマイル 'Snack Smile' is a hostess pub/bar that caters to male customers primarily. Shimura Tae 志村 妙 works here as a hostess (or bouncer, depending on circumstances) together with Oryou おりょう, Ane 阿音 and Hanako 花子. Matsudaira Katakuriko 松平 片栗虎 is a frequent VIP customer here, and even brought the Shogun here once. Takamagahara　高天原 Takamagahara is a male host club. It is run by Honjou Kyoushirou 本城 狂死郎. Shinsengumi Headquarters 真選組屯所 Shinsengumi 真選組 being the largest organisation unit in the Gintama world as far as main characters go, have their own separate head quarters within Edo. This is different from the regular police stations which deploy 同心 doushin, who are dressed in the traditional Japanese clothes vs. Shinsengumi's more military-like uniform. Regular policeman would be characters such as Kozenigata Heiji 小銭形 平次, and the one seen in Episode 93 booking Space Woman for flying while drunk. Yoshiwara Paradise 吉原桃源郷 Yoshiwara Paradise 吉原桃源郷 is the underground red-light district that forms the backdrop for 'The Blaze of Yoshiwara First Chapter 吉原炎上篇'. Kamui 神威 is the current overlord in charge of this place under the jurisdiction of the Harusame 春雨 group, after its predecessor Housen 鳳仙 was killed in Episode 146. Previously perpetually covered by roof due to the overlord being of Yato tribe (and so having an aversion to sunlight), it is now open to the sky though the new overlord is of Yato blood too. In Episode 146 the new overlord was said to be totally indifferent to being the new overlord, and did not even station his men there, much less administer the district. Dragon Palace City 竜宮城 According to Police Superintendent Matsudaira Katakuriko, Ryuuguujou or Dragon Palace City is a floating mobile city that operates as a high-class resort club for the elite class. It does not belong to any nation, and it operates outside any legislative confines, yet it receives tremendous support from the political world, to the extent that it has become very powerful. Since the Urashima incident (refer to Dragon Palace Chapter 竜宮城篇 for more details), it has descended into the depths of the sea and has remained there ever since. Senboukyou 仙望郷 Senboukyou 仙望郷 is a hot springs bathhouse high up in the mountains. It is maintained by Oiwa お岩 and Rei レイ, and is a place where wandering spirits can find a place to rest. Gokumontou 獄門島 Maximum-security penitentiary that resembles Alcatraz, but name is derived from 横溝 正史 Yokomizou Seishi's detective story with the same title, starring fictitious detective 金田一 耕助 Kindaichi Kousuke. Katsura Kotarou was brought to this place.Sorachi Hideaki. Gintama. Shueisha, Vol. 22, Lesson 193, p. 1. Many of its prisoners attempted to escape at roughly the same time, resulting in the cliffs beneath the prison being dotted with holes. Despite it taking only a matter of days if even for Elizabeth to tunnel into Katsura's cell, prisoner's tunneling out have taken years, roughly fifteen in the case of the cell opposite Katsura's own. Specific Buildings Inuisei Embassy 戌威星大使館 The embassy of the Amanto species from the Planet Inui-sei 戌威星, which was the first Amanto race to descend upon Earth using military force, located on Earth. Featured in as one of Katsura Kotarou's bombing targets. O-Edo Art Museum The O-Edo 大江戸 (meaning 'Great Edo') Art Museum was the setting for the "Kyuubi" gang's daring heist attempt on the Golden Tofu Sculpture in Episode 85. It is filled with various booby traps and security measures. Yagyuu Family Estate 柳生一門 The immense influence and wealth of the Yagyuu Family, designated sword instructor to the Shogunate, is reflected in the vast sprawling grounds of the family estate. Many of the wings are made up of 2-storey buildings interconnected by sheltered corridors. | rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top; padding:0px;"| | rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top; padding:0px;"| |- | style="vertical-align:top; padding:0px;"| |} The external grounds and the building compound, including interiors and a male toilet block, were the venues for the showdown with the Yagyuu family grand patriarch, the young heir and Yagyuu dojo's 4 Devas on one hand, and Shimura Shinpachi's Koudoukan 恒道館 on the other, whose newly joined members include Sakata Gintoki, Kagura, Kondou Isao, Hijikata Toushirou and Okita Sougo. | style="vertical-align:top;" | |- | style="vertical-align:top;" | | style="vertical-align:top;" | |} Koudoukan 恒道館 Also acting as the Shimura family home, this dojo specialises in 天堂無心流 tendou mushin ryuu, aka Tendou Mushin sword-fighting style. Ever since Otae became the target of the gorilla-stalker, aka Shinsengumi's Commander Kondou Isao, the house compound has been fortified to become a fortress of steel. Examples of defense devices include steel-spiked wall enclosure, trip-wire with Justaway bombs, hidden ground pits with bamboo-spikes, gateways with massive timber cage-doors, toilet seats with thumb-tacks and also the ability to summon a satellite weapon called SOL 740 to fire a laser beam at selected spots. Refer to Episode 62 for an overview of the defense mechanisms at work. Shibuya Regret Hall 渋谷後悔堂 Shibuya Regret Hall 渋谷後悔堂 Shibuya Koukai Dou is a spoof of the real-life theatre 渋谷公会堂 Shibuya Koukai Dou, Shibuya Public Hall. Now called Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall due to sponsorship deals with Dentsu and Suntory, the Gintama version sports a gigantic lemon logo behind the building sign. Featured in Episode 124 as the venue for Otsuu's live concerts. Others Takasugi's ship Takasugi Shinsuke's flight-capable ship was the setting for the main fighting scenes in Episode 59, Episode 60 and Episode 61. This ship was used to mass-produce the bio-mechanical katana called Benizakura devised by Murata Tetsuya 村田 鉄矢, for use by his extremist Jouishishi members. Sakata Gintoki and Okada Nizou's climactic confrontation for the Benizakura Chapter took place here, on the rooftop. Kaientai Kaientai 快援隊 comprises the ship belonging to Sakamoto Tatsuma 坂本 辰馬 that serves as his mercantile company traversing the galaxy as well as the staff on it. Although Sakamoto is the leader, the company is mostly helmed by his number 2, Mutsu 陸奥 due to the leader's penchant for going MIA. Go back to Main Page __INDEX__ ---- Category:Content